Welcome back, Dominick Cruz.
The challenger in the headlining bantamweight title bout at UFC Fight Night 81 at TD Garden in Boston shocked TJ Dillashaw by split decision in an incredible back-and-forth battle. Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports shared the judges’ scorecards:
Dillashaw was the champion coming into the fight with a handful of knockouts under his belt, but he won his title as Cruz dealt with a number of leg injuries. On Sunday, Cruz announced to the UFC world that he is back and one of the best fighters in the Octagon in just his second fight since 2011.
The UFC reacted to the victory:
Ariel Helwani of MMAFighting.com commented on the action:
The drama started before the fight even began, when the two fighters did not touch gloves. During the fight, they exchanged blows in the opening minutes, and Mike Bohn of USA Today summarized the feeling in the arena: “This is already crazy.”
Dillashaw, known as a devastating kickboxer coming into the fight, repeatedly went for the head kick in the first round. However, he failed to land any crushing blows, and Cruz, who consistently darts in and out with speed and the ability to throw strikes in rapid succession, landed an early hit, per the UFC:
Iole analyzed the first round: “Cruz 10-9, but very close. I could be convinced TJ won that quite easily.”
Helwani put Cruz’s efforts into perspective:
Dillashaw bounced back in the second round with some leg attacks, as the UFC shared:
However, Cruz returned some of the aggression and registered some momentum-shifting takedowns. After the second round, Shaheen Al-Shatti of MMAFighting.com called the score 20-18 in Cruz’s advantage.
Cruz continued to pace around in the third round, unleashing his constant-motion strategy as he looked for openings to attack. He added to his takedown total and earned some praise from Iole:
Cruz’s performance was particularly impressive because no opponent had ever taken Dillashaw down before Sunday, according to Helwani.
Cruz established more momentum in the opening minutes of the fourth round with another takedown, but Dillashaw struck back with a body blow and a high kick before securing a takedown of his own. Dillashaw also pinned Cruz against the cage and seemed to build some momentum heading into the final round, although Helwani said Cruz won three of the first four rounds on his card.
The fight looked primed to go the distance, but Dillashaw finally landed a jarring head kick in the early stages of the fifth round. Both fighters appeared to have more urgency in the final minutes, as though they didn’t want to put the fight into the judges’ hands, especially given how close it was throughout.
Dillashaw went after Cruz’s leg (which has been surgically repaired a handful of times), but the challenger continued to dart in and out.
The crowd came to its feet for the final 30 seconds as both fighters exchanged a flurry of punches and went the distance. Fox Sports UFC weighed in on the final round:
Jeremy Botter of Bleacher Report described how close the decision was after the fight:
With the title hanging in the balance, the judges ruled in Cruz’s favor: 48-47, 46-49, 49-46. Just like that, there was a new bantamweight champion.
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